A communications network is composed of many devices that are interconnected so that information can be communicated from a source to a destination. A common element of a communications network is a routing component. A routing component helps determine where and how to direct data across a communications network. A routing component is an integral part of a network and a routing component's security is a vital part of the overall security for the networks they serve. To maintain a high level of productivity in a communications network, routing components need to be properly configured and should be secure.
An improperly configured routing component can lead to various security problems in its network or other networks with which it communicates. An improperly configured routing component can result in misdirected traffic, reduced performance, a denial of communications services, exposure to sensitive data, exposure of network configuration details, attacks against other network components, a reduction in overall security of an entire enclave, exposure of internal network components to scans and attacks, and undetected attacks.
Attempting to check that a routing component is properly configured is currently time and resource intensive. A routing component may contain tens of parameters or even more. Attempting to check these parameters manually is subject to human error. A human may misinterpret the output, unintentionally skip a line, or not even realize the existence of an error, which can be devastating to a network.
The current state of the art could be improved by providing, among other things, a method and system that allows the current configuration of the routing component to be automatically checked and compared against a defined benchmark configuration without user interaction. Moreover, a method is needed to allow a set of one or more commands to be run that automatically identify any differences between a given configuration and a benchmark configuration.